NRA Journal - Spring 2007 - National Rifle Association

NOTES FROM THESECRETARY GENERALbyGlynnAlgerOlympicsAs you may be aware, there has been much discussionabout where the shooting elements of the Gamesin 2012 should be held. Originally the bid was forthem to take place at Bisley. During the course of thebidding process, to improve the chances of gettingthe Games, the shooting was placed at Woolwich tobe close to the Olympic Village. The NRA has madeseveral approaches to return the 2012 shooting toBisley to no avail.There has been much speculation about the suitabilityof the current site and whether a development atDartford would be better, being still close to the Villageand leaving a permanent legacy for shooting following2012. Currently the Olympic Committee are unwillingto consider moving the Games from Woolwich.What of Bisley I hear you cry! The NRA has notgiven up hope of getting the Games; should there bea problem with the Woolwich site we would still bewilling to host the shooting events. In the meantimewe have applied for Training Venue status to enableus to act as host to visiting teams in the build up tothe Games from 2010.The Need for Development at BisleyAs you are all aware, since 2001 the Association hasbeen successfully paying off over £2 million of debt.It is likely that all debts will be cleared within the nextthree years which is a great achievement.Unfortunately at the same time this is happening,despite trying hard to become more commercial toincrease income, we are not doing as well as we shouldlike. This is largely due to the fact that although Bisleyis charming “it is not fit for purpose” in a modernworld, in that the infrastructure and the condition ofbuildings are poor.At the same time our costs in terms of staff, maintenanceand utilities are rising at a rate that indicates theycould outstrip income within five to seven years.Where do we go from here? Wait until the crisis arrivesthen sell off property in a panic? Ask our members topay more and often?The answer of course is no. We need to plan a wayout of any impending crisis before it occurs. Bisley is amajor asset that, if developed and managed properly,could produce enough money to change the current‘fading glory’ into a world class facility and allowreal financial support of shooting in the regions. Todo that we will need to raise millions of pounds ininvestment.How have we got here you may ask? The facts are thatwe have not invested in Bisley or shooting in generalfor a very long time. In relation to Bisley, visitors seeit as quaint but not somewhere to host high qualityevents because the infrastructure and accommodationof the required standard are not on site. As a resultwe have limited ability to attract the ‘non-shootingpound’.Because the estate has not been modernised and iscrumbling we also limit our ability to attract newshooters into the sport. People today want to spendtheir leisure time in pleasant surroundings. They willspend money if they can turn up and have a shoot,followed by a meal, a drink and even some retailtherapy or other leisure activity if available.We also need to improve the current ranges andintroduce more and different opportunities to shootto maximise the ‘shooting pound’.I am not saying at this stage that there is any planon the books to develop Bisley but I am pointing outthat to continue as we are and do nothing should notbe an option. To fiddle around the edges to keep theplace afloat may suit some of the longer-term membersby avoiding any real change but it will leave theAssociation in a position where it continues to strugglewhile failing in its duty to promote the sport of targetshooting nationally.I am told that if we choose to develop Bisley we couldraise large sums of non-shooting capital that wouldallow us to modernise facilities at Bisley and openranges regionally. In addition we could achieve anannual income from any development that would actas an on-going legacy for the sport.There would of course need to be conditionssurrounding any such project that would safeguardthe interests of the sport and shooters.• The shooting and accommodation providedwould need to suit all pockets.2